Liz Tormes

Bio

One of the most promising singer-songwriters performing in NYC’s East Village right now, Liz Tormes began her music career playing rhythm guitar in the infamous Alphabet City Opry where she was recruited for her sense of time. Since then, she has written an impressive body of work and has performed at Mercury Lounge, The Knitting Factory, Sin-e, and The Living Room. Liz is a guest vocalist on the song “Two Steps”, which she co-wrote, on the Columbia Records debut release from Ollabelle and her song “Happy” can be heard in Amos Kollecks’s feature film “Bridget”.
Growing up in Nashville, Liz spent her time listening to The Smiths and Echo & The Bunnymen while riding to the Grand Ole Opry with Bill Monroe and spending summer days at the house of Johnny Cash. The combination of those early influences and a musical diet of nothing but murder ballads & old time music while teaching herself to play guitar, appears to have had a lasting impact on Liz Tormes' music and lyrics. While the moody songs on her upcoming CD, Limelight, may retain echoes of the stark, honest realism of early roots music, the arrangements and instrumentation move boldly beyond that genre to incorporate quirky keyboard melodies amid washes of sparkly guitar which run beneath her sweetly haunting voice. The result is a dark, acoustic pop record filled with eerily familiar melancholy songs that seem to wander in the window as if from a distant radio and have been drawing comparisons to Sam Phillips, Neko Case and Cat Power. Teddy Thompson & Amy Helm of 'Ollabelle' appear as guest vocalists.
Liz has recently finished recording her first full length album, Limelight, which will be released later this year. Early interest from Ken Coomer (formerly of Wilco & Uncle Tupelo) resulted in an EP of demos last year, but the upcoming album will be Liz’s first national release.